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THEODORE B. FLOYD AND HENRY L. BARTON, OF PINE HILL, NEW YORK.

CHECKING DEVICE FOR HARNESS.

5PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 297,369, dated April 22, 1884.

Application filed February 4, 1584. (No model.)

To a l whom, it may concern Be it known that we, THEODORE B. FLOYD and HENRY L. BARTON, citizens of the United States, and residents ofPine Hill, in the county of Ulster and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Checking Devices for Harness; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, whichforin a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of our improved checking and unchecking device. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a detail View.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Our invention has relation to devices for checking and unchecking horses, adapted to be attached to the saddle of the harness; and it consists in the improved construction and combination of parts of such a device by which a horse may be unchecked by means of the whip, so as to allow it to drink or bend its head, whereupon it may again be checked by simply drawing the horses head up by the reins, as hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter A indicates the saddle of the harness, to the top of which a plate, B, is secured, which plate has two upwardly-projectinglips, G, exten ding the entirelength of the plate, and the forward ends of which lips are beveled or inclined and form shoulders D behind the inclined portions. A transverse axle or pin, E, is seen red between the upper portions of the rear portions of the lips, and asleeve, F, having its ends secured to the heads of a narrow cylinder or drum, G, rocks upon the said shaft or pin. A helical spring, H, is secured at one end to the sleeve and at its other end to the inner side of a smaller drum, I, turning upon the sleeve inside the larger outer drum, and a ribbon, J, of steel or any suitable flexible or textile material, is secured at one end to the outer side of the smaller drunnwonnd around it, and passing out through a transverse slot,

K, in the outer drum, which slot is provided upon its upper edge with an anti-friction roller, L, against which the ribbon bearsin passing through the slot. A bifurcated plate, M, is secured to theupper side of the druin,which is tilted forward by means of a spring, N, and a frame, 0, engaging the shoulders of the upwardly-projectin g lips with its rear side, is secured with that side to the outer end of the ribbon, while its forward end or side forms a hook, 1, into which the check-reins arehooked.

It will now be seen that when it is desired to allow the horse to bend its head forward or downward, as in drinking or feeding, the end of the whip may be inserted into the bifurcated plate upon the drum, which will tilt the drum rearward, disengaging the rear side of the hook-frame and allowing the horse to draw the ribbon out by the check-line, when the whip may be disengaged. When it now is desired to again check the horse, its head is raised by means of the driving-reins, when the ribbon will be wound up by the helical spring and the frame be caught by the shoulders, preventing the horse from again drawing its head forward or downward, the spring which tilts the drum forward serving to tilt it forwardat the time when the rear side of the frame slips over the shoulder.

We are aware that it is not broadly new to use a helical spring to wind a ribbon or band upon a drum by the spring unwinding, the spring having been previously wound by the unwinding of the ribbon or band, and we do not wish to claim such construction, broadly; but

We claim 1. Ina device for checking horses, the combination of a plate adapted to be attached to the saddle of the harness, having upright parallel lips shaped into hooks or catches at their forward ends and united by a transverse axle or pin at their rear ends, a drum rolling upon said axle and provided with a central sleeve, a barrel containing a spring, the inner end of which is secured to the sleeve of the drum, a ribbon secured to the spring-barrel, and having a hook upon its outer end formed with an open frame adapted to catch over the hooks upon the upright lips, and means, substantially as described, for tilting the outer drum for- 

